Moraxella catarrhalis is a Gram-negative diplococcus that primarily infects young children where it is a major cause of bacteria-induced acute otitis media (AOM). Older adults with underlying lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are also frequently affected. More than 3.5 million cases of AOM are recorded every year in the United States, and it is estimated that 80% of children have experienced at least one episode of otitis before reaching the age of 3 (Klein, J O (1994) Clin. Inf. Dis 19:823). Left untreated the disease may lead to hearing loss. Most cases of AOM are caused by one of three major pathogens, Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) (30-40%), non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) (30%) and Moraxella catarrhalis (M. catarrhalis) (20%).
The treatment of the estimated 24 million cases of childhood AOM that occur each year in the United States is the single most prominent reason for prescribing0 antibiotics (Teele, et al 2001. Vaccine 19: S140-S143). In the past three decades, there has been a dramatic worldwide increase in antibiotic resistance in AOM pathogens which has resulted in a reduction of the number of effective antibiotics for this disease and has begun to pose a major public health threat. Accordingly, there is a need for reliable and rapid methods for identifying Moraxella catarrhalis infections in AOM. Further, there is a need for reliable and rapid methods by which Moraxella catarrhalis can be distinguished from other strains of Moraxella and other infectious organisms known to cause AOM., as M. catarrhalis induced AOM can not be diagnosed based on symptomology alone unlike other AOM pathogens.